Clog construction

ABSTRACT

A comfortable, clog construction having a specially shaped rigid upper and a rigid lower connected together along a mating circumferential step is disclosed herein. The clog is held comfortably and snugly to the foot of the wearer by a unique arrangement including a foam lining which cooperates with the rigid upper and lower to define a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;keyhole&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; opening into which the skewed foot of the user may be inserted and then rotated to lock the foot securely in the clog. The clog is of plastic and provides a new modular shoe construction having the appearance of so-called &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;Dutch&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; shoes into which may be added a legging to provide a new and improved boot construction.

Famolare, .1 r.

[ CLOG CONSTRUCTION [75] Inventor: Joseph P. Famolare, Jr., Florence,

ltaly [73] Assignee: lFamolare, lnc., New York, NY. [22] Filed: Apr. 30, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 355,941

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. Nos. 268,728, July 3, 1972, Pat. No. 3,742,625, and Ser. No. 231,505, March 3, 1972, Pat, No. 3,729,840.

[52] U.S. Cl. 36/115 [51] Int. Cl A43b 3/12 [58] Field of Search 36/25 R, 11.5, 25 R, 32 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,651,1l7 9/1953 Harris 36/ll.5 2,889,639 Rudine 36/115 1451 May 14, 1974 3,742,625 7/1973 Famolare 36/l 1.5

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Mandeville and Schweitzer [57] ABSTRACT A comfortable, clog construction having a specially shaped rigid upper and a rigid lower connected together along a mating circumferential step is disclosed herein. The clog is held comfortably and snugly to the foot of the wearer by a unique arrangement including a foam lining which cooperates with the rigid upper and lower to define a keyhole opening into which the skewed foot of the user may be inserted and then rotated to lock the foot securely in the clog. The clog is of plastic and provides a new modular shoe construction having the appearance of so-called Dutch shoes into which may be added a legging to provide a new and improved boot construction.

9 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures 1 CLOG CONSTRUCTION CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application Ser. No. 231,505, filed Mar. 3, 1972, now US. Pat. No. 3,729,840, and copending application Ser. No. 268,728 filed July 3, 1972, now US. Pat. No. 3,742,625.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Clogs such as Dutch-type wooden shoes are very well known to the art. Indeed, the patent literature includes disclosures of such wooden shoes dating back more than a hundred years. Moreover, foam lined shoes and foam lined rigid boots are also well known to the art, and the ski boot literature is replete with disclosures of this type of footwear. However, heretofore, a Dutch shoe type of clog, which may be securely, safely, and comfortably held to the foot of the wearer and which may be mass produced at reasonable cost in clog" or clog boot form has not been available to the art. Accordingly, it is to the provision of anew and improved, modular Dutch shoe type construction that the present disclosure is directed. The present shoe is advantageously and preferably manufactured from injection molded plastic.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The new shoe construction comprises essentially a specially configured and foam filled upper and a contoured rigid lower, which rigid elements give the new modular clog the general appearance ofa conventional wooden shoe. However, in accordance with the invention, the rigid upper is shortened and does not include any rigid back portion. The rear edges of the upper are specially arched and disposed in a plane canted with respect to the lower. Importantly, the upper and lower combine to form an oversized, in relation to the foot size intended to be accommodated by the new clog, cavity for the foot of the wearer. This cavity is overstuffed" with a specially configured, partly folded liner of expanded plastic foam sheet material, such as flexible, resilient, polyurethanefoam. The liner is blanked out of sheets of foam material and specially shaped and folded to line or to overstuf the cavity and to define a foot space between the upper and lower.

Specifically, the folded foam liner defines a narrow keyhole" or throat opening which may be entered by the foot only when it is rotated slightly to a position generally parallel with the opening, a position in which the foot is in a vertical or inclined plane, rather than in a horizontal plane of the surfaces of the lower. In this manner, the user of the shoe may lock his foot therein by turning the foot, after its widest portions have passed through the narrow throat opening, to a position in which the widest portions of the foot are in a horizontal plane and locked behind the narrow throat opening. It will be understood, of course, that the flexible foam provides cushioning of the upper portions of the foot as well as locking of the foot within the clog.

In accordance, with the principles of the present invention the uppers and lowers may be nailed or otherwise fastened together along mating steps or rabbet joints at circumferential edge portions of both. In this manner, decorative nails, i.e., nails with enlarged dome-shaped heads or the like, may be driven through the aligned step portions of the upper and lower to fasten the same and/or the upper and lower may be fastened along the step joint by a suitable adhesive. The provision of a rabbet joint enables the finished clog to retain its attractive appearance, i.e., the external surfaces of the upper and lower are flush, while the attachment of the upper and lower is made in an especially secure, safe, and reliable manner. As an important aspect of the invention the new clog is modular and may be manufactured backless" or may have a simple legging fastened thereto to form a clog boot. The leg ging may be opened and closed by a simple vertical zipper fastened and may include a thermal insulating lining. As a further feature of the invention, the sole of the new clog is especially constructed with intergral fastening pins for rapid assembly. Additionally, the sole is provided with special cylindrical cleats arrayed in a new pattern for improved traction and comfort.

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and a greater appreciation of its attendant advantages, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front, perspective view of a first embodiment of a new and improved clog embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear, perspective view of the clog of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper of the clog of FIG. 1 showing details of construction of the plastic foam lining;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the new and improved foam liner blank of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the liner is folded twice upon itself for insertion into and assembly with the rigid upper of the clog of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the upper of the invention showing the manner in which the folded liner is inserted into the new clog and secured thereto;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the new and improved clog taken along line'77 of FIG. 3 and showing the folded lining of the'new clog and the throat-like portions defined by said lining in accordance with the principles of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a front, perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention in the form of a clog boot;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the new clog boot taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8, and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the clog boot of FIG. 8 taken along line 1010 thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION molded' as a single or two plastic components as indicated in FIGS. 9-11. Regardless of the number of elements or the material used to fabricate the upper and lower, the outer surfaces of the upper and lower are contiguous and the side edges are flush with one another.

In the illustrated first embodiment of FIGS. 1-7, the upper 11 and lower 12 are joined to one another by an adhesive 13 along a peripheral joint 14. To provide the clog, or at least the forwardmost portions thereof, with a general Dutch shoe" or wooden shoe" appearance, the lower 12 is of thin dimension and defines a heel 15 and sole 16 separated by an arch 17. The upper surfaces 18 of the lower 12 are contoured and define an insole upon which the foot of the wearer will rest as will be understood. The upper 11, which is in the general nature of a hollow shell having side walls 19, and a top wall 21, as shown best in FIG. 2, has an inverted U- shaped cross-section. As will be understood, and may be appreciated by comparison of FIGS. 2 and 7, the shape and contour of the upper 11 varies along its length. The rearmost edges of the upper 11 are disposed in a plane which makes a blunt angle with the insole 18. As shown in the drawings, the upper terminates at the beginning of the heel portions of the lower 12.

In accordance with the invention, a non-skid sole element 22 and a similar non-skid heel element 23, made of rubber or some other resilient wear material, may be appropriately secured to the lower as by nails or adhesive.

In accordance with an important feature ofthe invention, the clog 10 includes a liner 30 of resilient polyurethane foam which reduces the oversized foot cavity defined between the inner surfaces of the upper 11 and the insole 18 to a foot space which, by nature of the configuration and resiliency of the special liner 30, will snugly and comfortably accommodate all widths of a given foot size. More specifically, the liner 30 of the invention, as shown best in FIG. 4, is derived from a bellshaped blank 31 of polyurethane foam which has its side edges effectively skived" by a line of stitching 32 running adjacent a periphery thereof. The stitching 32 tends to compress and reduce the thickness of the peripheral portions of the blank 31 so that it may readily conform itself to the corners where the upper and lower meet. The remaining edge of the blank is reinforced and embraced by a leather collar 33 which is secured thereto by stitching 36. The collar 33 will provide a comfortable wear surface for the arched entrance to the shoe, as shown in FIG. 3, as well as providing a reduction in thickness of the liner immediately adjacent the opening to the shoe.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, the rearmost portions of the upper 11 and the lining 30 associated therewith define a keyhole opening 35 having vertical dimensions which are greater than and horizontal dimensions which are less than the normal full width dimensions of the foot size for which the particular clog is intended. To that end, and as indicated in FIG. 7, the sizing and shaping of the upper 11 and the liner 30 are such that upon insertion of the liner into the shoe, in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter, the liner folds and is compressed along an asymmetrical axis 37 providing a foot opening specifically shaped for a left or a right foot. That is to say and referring to FIG. 7, the foot opening 35 is canted toward the instep side, providing a right shoe. In addition and as will be understood, the contour of the insole is also appropriately rightfooted or leftfooted for each shoe. In this manner, the overstuffed foam liner tends to lock the new clog onto the foot of the user by trapping the normal arch of the foot and the remaining portions of the foot between the contoured insole and the foam lining 30.

More specifically, since the foam lining 30 is oversized," although it is resilient and deformable, it is necessary, in accordance with the principles of the invention, to rotate the foot of a user into a vertical or inclined plane to get the widest dimension of the foot through he narrow vertical opening or throat defined by pillow portions 38, 39 straddling the fold 37 and by the rearmost portions of the upper. Thereafter, when the widest part of the foot clears the throat and enters the wider portions of the upper disposed forwardly of the opening 35, it cannot be readily withdrawn by a rearward motion after it is returned to a horizontal plane. In other words and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the rearmost portion of walls 19, 20 are more closely mutually spaced than intermediate wall portions. It should be understood that the height of the upper wall 21 or its spacing from the insole 18 is sufficient to accommodate insertion ofa twisted foot having predetermined width dimensions, but the spacing of the rearmost portions of upper walls 19, 20 are less than that maximum dimension and do not accommodate the insertion or withdrawal of a foot in its normal flat position or horizontal position. Thus, this unique construction enables a clog to be held securely and comfortably on the foot of a user. Importantly, the twist and straighten entry and locking of the foot is facilitated immensely and the styling of the clog is accentuated by the elimination of a back.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the new foam lining is inserted in the rigid clog 10 by folding the blank 31 twice upon itself along the YY and then along the X-X axes, as indicated in FIG. 5, to form a compressed and four layer subassembly 40 generally having a heart-shaped profile (FIG. 5) which is sufficiently compact to be inserted into the mouth of the clog, as indicated in FIG. 6. Prior to the insertion of the subassembly 40 into the clog, the entrance 41 of the upper and other areas of the inner surfaces 11a of the upper may be coated with adhesive 42, as will be understood. Thereafter, the subassembly 40 is inserted into the upper and is opened down to the toe of the shoe, and the bead or skived edges opened into contact with the edges. The geometry and size of the liner will overstuff the shoe, as inicated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 7. The skived or effectively skived peripheral portions of the liner are adhered at the interface of the upper and lower along the joint 14, remaining contacting portions of the liner are adhered at the inner surfaces 11a of the upper 11, and the collar 33 is adhered to the arch 41. In accordance with the invention, since the blank 31 is oversized in terms of area, in comparison to the upper area 110, the lining foam 30, as indicated in FIG. 7, will fold along axis 37 and form a narrow throat portion 35 bounded by pillow portions 38, 39. Beyond the throat are foot-receiving portions which will be leftfooted or rightfooted, depending upon the shape of the upper. The particular clog illustrated in the drawings is a rightfooted shoe. A mating left shoe would, of course, have a mirror image configuration of that shoe in the drawrngs.

In a second embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 8-10, a new and improved clog is manufactured from two injection molded, high impact plastic members 111, 112 which generally correspond in function and shape to the above-described upper 11 and lower 12 of FIGS. 17.

Any of the known durable, injection moldable, thermoplastics such as polyurethane, polystyrene, foamed urethane, ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) or the like may be used in the practice of the invention.

More specifically and as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the upper 111 and lower 112 include mating, stepped peripheral portions 113, 114, respectively, which are fastened by nails'l15 and by adhesive 116 to establish a rabbet joint 117. As will be understood, either of the adhesive 116 and nails 115 may be omitted or when desired or necessary, other means of fastening may be employed.

In accordance with the invention and as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the heel portion 120 and sole portion 121 of the lower 112 are generally hollowed by cavities 122, 123 to reduce the weight and to enhance the comfort of the plastic clog. Reinforcement and strengthening of the hollow lower are provided by longitudinal, vertical walls 124, 125, extending across the cavities as indicated. Moreover, integral columns 127 reinforce the wall 124, the lower edge 126 of which defines the general arcuate profile of the sole of the new clog. The lower edge 128 of the wall 125 terminates well above the heel of the clog.

In accordance with the invention, new and improved molded, plastic wear sole elements 130, 131 are fastened to the lower surfaces thereof by integral wear sole pins 132 which are arrayed for predetermined registry with a corresponding array of sockets 133 molded into the lower 112 during its formation. Thus, the wear sole pins may be simply hammered into the sockets to establish force fits therewith. Additionally, the forwardmost and rearmost portions of the sole elements 130, 131 may be fastened to lands 134 along the peripheral edges of the lower 112 by nails 135.

The wear sole elements 130, 131 include integral, blunt, cleats 140, having side walls 141 which taper so very slightly that the cleats tend to be right cylindrical in appearance and function. lmportantly, the diameter of the flat, circular bottom wear surfaces 142 of the cleats 140 are uniform and the centers of each cleat are separated by a spacing of less than one diameter. For example, each'of the cylindrical cleats 140 has a height of three-sixteenths inch and a diameter of one-half inch. The centers of all of the cleats are located less than one inch apart. Moreover, the cleats are nonuniformly arrayed across the length and width of the wear sole elements so that at least a portion of a substantial number of the cleat bottom wear surfaces will always contact the ground to provide a large contact plane for the comfort and safety of the wearer of the new clog. The sole elements 130, 131 may be injection molded from known durable, flexible plastics suitable for wear soles such as impact polystyrene, ABS, ionomer resins, polyurethane, urethane elastomer/PVC (polyvinyl chloride) alloys, and the like.

The clog 100 of FIGS. 8-11 may be provided with a foam lining 31 and a collar 33 in the identical manner as the clog of FIGS. l-7. Such a lining 31 and the collar 33 need not be discussed further. It will be appreciat ed that the clog 100 may'be sold in a backless" form for use as a clog of the general type shown in FIGS. 1-7. However, the clog 100 is modular or universal, that is to say it may be readily enlarged or otherwise modified, in accordance with the principles of the invention, into a clog boot or other type of shoe by the simple addition thereto of an auxiliary, generally tubular legging 150.

As shown in FIGS. 8 ll, such a legging has lower hems 151, 152, which respectively conform in shape with and are attached, by nails or other suitable fastening means such as adhesive'sealant 156, directly to the rear edge surfaces 153, 154 of the upper 111 and the lower 112. Specifically, the legging 150 is formed from sheet material advantageously, waterproof(synthetic leather or the like) joined along a front and/or rear vertical seam into a tube and lined by a synthetic fleece material 164 attached thereto along horizontal lines of stitching 161 definitive of quilted ribs 162 and a quilted collar 163.

A zipper-type slide fastener is secured by stitching 171 into the legging and extends from the free upper edge thereof, defined by the collar 163, to a point slightly above the insole surfaces 118. As will be understood, the zipper 170 permits the legging 150 to be quickly opened and closed along substantially its full length, for foot insertion and removal.

It should be understood that the specific forms of the invention herein illustrated and described are intended to be representative, only, as certain changes may be made therein without departing from the clear teachings of the disclosure.

Accordingly, reference should be made to the following appended claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. An improved clog comprising a. a rigid, thick, injection molded plastic lower having contoured upper surfaces adapted to support the toes, ball, instep, and heel of a human foot comfortably thereupon, said lower defining open cavities providing hollow sole and heel portions;

b. said lower having forward and rearward, bottom peripheral surfaces surrounding said cavities defining an inflexible hollow sole and an inflexible ho]- low heel, respectively, separated by an arch;

c. said peripheral surfaces having a predetermined array of socket means integrally formed therein;

(1. a rigid contoured upper contiguous withthe forward portions of said lower and cooperating therewith to define a generally arched foot opening;

e. said upper and lower being connected along a rabbet joint;

f. injection molded plastic wear sole elements having integral pin means predeterminedly arrayed for registry with said socket means; and

g. said pin means nesting by force fit within said socket means to attach said wear sole elements to said lower.

2. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. reinforcing wall means extend across said cavities.

3. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. said upper and lower are adhesively secured along peripheral portions thereof to maintain said rabbet joint.

4. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. said upper and lower are secured by mechanical fastening means along peripheral portions thereof to maintain said rabbet joint.

5. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. a legging means is secured along rearmost portions of said upper and lower and cooperates therewith to define a boot. 7. The clog of claim 6 further characterized in that a. said legging is secured to said upper and lower by mechanical fasteners. 8. The clog of claim 6 further characterized in that a. said legging includes a selectively openable vertical seam for providing foot entry and foot egress. 9. The clog of claim 8, in which a. said vertical seam is defined by a zipper fastening means. 

1. An improved clog comprising a. a rigid, thick, injection molded plastic lower having contoured upper surfaces adapted to support the toes, ball, instep, and heel of a human foot comfortably thereupon, said lower defining open cavities providing hollow sole and heel portions; b. said lower having forward and rearward, bottom peripheral surfaces surrounding said cavities defining an inflexible hollow sole and an inflexible hollow heel, respectively, separated by an arch; c. said peripheral surfaces having a predetermined array of socket means integrally formed therein; d. a rigid contoured upper contiguous with the forward portions of said lower and cooperating therewith to define a generally arched foot opening; e. said upper and lower being connected along a rabbet joint; f. injection molded plastic wear sole elements having integral pin means predeterminedly arrayed for registry with said socket means; and g. said pin means nesting by force fit within said socket means to attach said wear sole elements to said lower.
 2. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. reinforcing wall means extend across said cavities.
 3. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. said upper and lower are adhesively secured along peripheral portions thereof to maintain said rabbet joint.
 4. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. said upper and lower are secured by mechanical fastening means along peripheral portions thereof to maintain said rabbet joint.
 5. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. said wear sole elements include a plurality of short, generally right cylindrical cleats; b. said cleats are of uniform diameter and are randomly arrayed with center-to-center spacings of less than said diameter.
 6. The clog of claim 1 further characterized in that a. a legging means is secured along rearmost portions of said upper and lower and cooperates therewith to define a boot.
 7. The clog of claim 6 further characterized in that a. said legging is secured to said upper and lower by mechanical fasteners.
 8. The clog of claim 6 further characterized in that a. said legging includes a selectively openable vertical seam for providing foot entry and foot egress.
 9. The clog of claim 8, in which a. said vertical seam is defined by a zipper fastening means. 